Jim FisherOlympus PEN Mini E-PM2The Olympus PEN Mini E-PM2 is a capable little interchangeable-lens camera with a Live Guide mode for photographic novices, but for just $100 more you can get a better PEN.

The Olympus PEN Mini E-PM2 is a capable little interchangeable-lens camera with a Live Guide mode for photographic novices, but for just $100 more you can get a better PEN.

This year's entry-level Micro Four Thirds camera, the Olympus PEN Mini E-PM2 ($599.99 direct with lens), comes in at a higher price than its predecssor, the $500 PEN E-PM1. For the extra money you get a vastly improved 16-megapixel image sensor and processor—the same one found in the top-end OM-D E-M5—and a body with a modest handgrip, a touch-enabled display, and a few extra buttons. The $600 price point makes the new Mini a tougher sell than its predecessor—for only $100 more you can buy the PEN Lite E-PL5, which adds a tilting rear display and a few other improvements. Neither camera beats our current Editors' Choice entry-level compact interchangeable lens camera, the $600 Sony Alpha NEX-F3—it does better at the highest ISO settings, features an articulating rear LCD, and also supports an optional EVF.

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Design and Features The E-PM2 is quite similar in size and design to the E-PL5. The Mini measures 2.5 by 4.3 by 1.3 inches and weighs 9.5 ounces. Despite its billing, the Mini is comparable in size to most other compact interchangeable lens cameras. The Olympus E-PL5 is deeper at 2.5 by 4.4 by 1.5 inches and a bit heavier at 11.4 ounces due to its tilting rear display, and the Sony NEX-F3 is only slightly larger at 2.6 by 4.6 by 1.7 inches.

Olympus bundles the Mini with its standard 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 (28-84mm equivalent) zoom lens. It's a collapsible design, which helps to minimize the camera's depth when the lens is mounted and turned off. The 3x zoom range is standard for an interchangeable lens kit zoom, but those looking for the best in build quality should look elsewhere—a plastic barrel and lens mount save some weight, but aren't as sturdy as higher-end lenses that are fabricated from metal. Sony bundles its NEX series with a sturdy 18-55mm lens, but it isn't as good as the Olympus 14-42mm from an optical standpoint.

The rear LCD is fixed, a departure from the tilting displays found in the Sony NEX-F3 and Olympus E-PL5. Its 460k-dot resolution is about half as sharp as the LCD on the NEX-F3, and and the difference is noticeable when looking at them side-by-side. The display does support touch input—you can use it to select a focus point, fire the shutter, or navigate through the camera's Live Guide. This mode explains photographic concepts like exposure, aperture, and shutter speed in layman's terms. Instead of adjusting the exposure, you can modify a scene's brightness, and the aperture setting is controlled by the Background Blur setting.

The main menu is also navigable via touch. It's a colorful screen that gives you access to in-camera art filters, iAuto mode, scene modes, Movie mode, Setup, and standard P, A, S, and M modes. More than the other cameras in the PEN series, this model is aimed at entry-level users, but once you enter Aperture priority, Shutter priority, or Manual mode the controls to adjust settings are identical to the mid-range E-PL5. There are physical buttons that adjust Exposure Compensation, Drive Mode, the focus area, and flash settings (there's no built-in flash, but an external one is included).

Adjusting aperture or shutter speed in A or S mode isn't the most intuitive process. First, you'll have to tap the Exposure Compensation button, and only then will you be able to use the up or down directions on the rear control dial to change the f-stop or shutter speed—EV Compensation is controlled via spinning the wheel or tapping left or right. In either of these modes the initial button press shouldn't be necessary—the spinning rear control dial should be enough to adjust it.

If you're not a Raw shooter—and this camera is not really designed for photographers who demand control over every step of the shooting process—you may find yourself using the in-camera art filters, which apply effects to your photos. Effects include a grainy black and white look, a miniature mode, soft focus, and a cross process mode that creates some very funky, hyper-realistic colors. All effects are shown in real time on the LCD, and you can opt to shoot in Raw and JPG mode simultaneously to record a processed and unprocessed image simultaneously.

There's no Wi-Fi here—if that's a must-have feature, consider the Samsung NX1000, it has the best Wi-Fi implementation we've seen in a mirrorless camera. Olympus recommends the use of a Toshiba FlashAir memory card, which is similar to an Eye-Fi card, to add wireless connectivity. At this time, the card isn't the easiest to find at retail, and is rather expensive at around $90 for the 8GB version. Olympus is offering a card to PEN purchasers via mail-in redemption, but that offer expires at the end of the year.

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About the Author

Senior digital camera analyst for the PCMag consumer electronics reviews team, Jim Fisher is a graduate of the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, where he concentrated on documentary video production. Jim's interest in photography really took off when he borrowed his father's Hasselblad 500C and light meter in 2007. He honed his writing skills at re... See Full Bio

Olympus PEN Mini E-PM2

Olympus PEN Mini E-PM2

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